A demanding and ethical look at cabinetmaking
Located in Condé-sur-Huisne, our workshop embodies a demanding and ethical approach to cabinetmaking. A graduate since 2009 with a DMA in the restoration and conservation of art furniture, and drawing on many years of experience, Mathieu Vath puts his skills to work both in the restoration and creation of furniture and all types of cabinetmaking objects.
Passionate about heritage, we believe that every piece of furniture that enters our workshop is a witness to history, a history we have a responsibility to pass on. For us, preserving the objects of yesterday is the essential condition for our culture of tomorrow.
Our expertise rests on an encyclopedic knowledge of styles and a perfect mastery of the traditional techniques and know-how of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. We regularly train to stay informed of the latest technical advances in restoration. Defining ourselves more as keepers of memory than as mere craftsmen, we adhere to a strict code of ethics for conservation and restoration: reversibility is our golden rule. We exclusively use animal-based glues (bone, sinew, skin, fish), guaranteeing that any intervention can be removed without damage by a restorer a century or two from now. Similarly, we are committed to respecting the patina; the aim is not to make the piece "new," but to restore its health while preserving the traces of its history, that added soul that gives it its value.
Our practice is based on an in-depth study of traditional finishing techniques and methods, drawn from historical treatises on the craft, particularly those by André-Jacob Roubo and Jean-Félix Watin. It is from this research that we derive the true Roubo polish and 18th-century brush varnishes. This work, which can extend over several weeks for a single piece of furniture, illustrates our conviction that faithful restoration relies as much on historical knowledge as on skillful technique.
This commitment is reflected in our eco-responsible approach. We formulate our own waxes and varnishes according to our own recipes. We use horsetail, a plant rich in silica, to sand and clean the wood, and we rely on Labovert products for stripping. Curative treatment for wood-boring insects is carried out using anoxia.
While restoration occupies most of our time, we occasionally create original pieces, approaching them with the same uncompromising rigor as our restorations. We conceive of these contemporary pieces as the "antiques of tomorrow": solid, traditionally assembled pieces (mortise and tenon joints, dovetails), without any modern artifice that could compromise their longevity. For us, creating today with the techniques of yesterday means offering a sustainable future to fine woodworking.
